Synopsis:
Peter Nimble and His Fantastic Eyes is the utterly beguiling tale of a ten-year-old blind orphan who has been schooled in a life of thievery. One fateful afternoon, he steals a box from a mysterious traveling haberdasher—a box that contains three pairs of magical eyes. When he tries the first pair, he is instantly transported to a hidden island where he is presented with a special quest: to travel to the dangerous Vanished Kingdom and rescue a people in need. Along with his loyal sidekick—a knight who has been turned into an unfortunate combination of horse and cat—and the magic eyes, he embarks on an unforgettable, swashbuckling adventure to discover his true destiny.

Note to readers:

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This is an Oliver Twist- like story, with a poor orphan who is taken advantage by someone who teaches him to steal.

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The main character’s (Peter) eyes are pecked out by ravens in the first chapter. He is physically, verbally, and emotionally abused by his caretaker and there’s some animal abuse as well.

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Make sure you make it through to at least page 38-39 (start of Chapter 4). That’s when Peter finally gets the eyes.

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Seamus is pronounced “shay + muss”

Discussion topics for before reading:

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How much can you tell about someone with your eyes closed?

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What can you identify by smell or hearing alone? What kinds of food? Plants? Animals?

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How much can you navigate around your home with your eyes closed? Around your bedroom? Around your neighborhood?

Vocabulary

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Nimble – quick and light; agile

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Haberdasher – a dealer (seller) of men’s clothing, such as hats,, gloves, ties

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Friar – monk, brother

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Taverner – owner or operator of a tavern (bar or motel); innkeeper

Discussion topics for during/after reading:

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Babies floating in baskets usually turn out quite well. They get adopted by Pharaohs and the like, right? Well, that’s not exactly what happened to Peter Nimble.

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How much of this is really possible?

Craft ideas:

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Draw and cut out locks and make a chain of locks.

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Draw a magic chest with 3 sets of eyes: Note, it would be great if we had some shiny gold, shiny black and shiny green paper. We could cut out the eyes (egg shapes) out of the shiny paper. Then cut slits in the paper with the picture of the chest, and slide the eyes part way in.

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Cut out fortune-cookie size and shape slips of paper. Write on it a magic (or not so magic) quest.

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Using strips of cloth kids can make their own bandage with Fantastic Eyes using regular markers. Or just have the kids draw what they think fantastic eyes would look like.

*Note: These craft ideas are just suggestions.
You can use them, but you don’t have to use them.
You can expand upon them, or add your own twist.
Remember, though, that the focus of your time should
not be on the development and execution of a craft;
the focus should be on the read-aloud and the
enjoyment of the book!